Hello :D I'm back

Aleksei alerted both Zakhar and Lev over the phone and then turned all his attention on Tai who was nervously tapping her foot and glancing around frantically.

"Let's go to the villa. Lev can tap into the cameras and see if they caught something." Aleksei tried to take her hand but she started pacing around again.

"This is the second time. First the stables, now with you. I can't help but panic. I know we found out who the blackmailer was but I feel like I'm being stalked. Maybe...I'm just overly anxious lately but my intuition keeps..." Tai covered her face.

Aleksei brought her hands down and held them closer to his chest. "There's one thing we haven't told you and Nikita."

In a few short sentences, he explained to her why he thought there was another blackmailer and how they were trying to gather more information about it.

"It didn't occur to you that I might want to know." Tai frowned.

Aleksei rubbed his nose with hers. "I know. I'm sorry. It was my call to keep it from you and Nikita." He really didn't want to argue with her now when minutes ago he was kissing her.

Tai glared at him. "Wow, you're even bragging about it. "

Aleksei chuckled seeing her sulk and hugged her tighter. "I'm not bragging. I'm trying to be honest."

"Ugh, I just want to.." Tai brought her first fist up which only made him laugh more. However, the fact that he was laughing made her relax.

She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Nikita also said there was something weird about the student who came to apologize. He didn't seem like a person capable of blackmailing someone. Having that person still out there out of control is scary enough, Aleksei. What if they decided to spill everything about Nikita now."

"They won't. Whoever is doing this, is scared of us. That gives us time to find them. For now, let's meet with the others."

He took her hand and they headed towards the villa. They met up with Zakhar at the entrance.

"What's the important thing that we have to rush here?" Zakhar asked them with a smirk, expecting to congratulate them as a couple.

Aleksei just gave him a head shake to remain serious. "Someone tried to take pictures of me and Tai in secret."

Zakhar changed moods instantly. He walked inside and then closed the door after they got in.

Tai glanced at Zakhar "Aleksei already told me you guys were keeping it a secret that the real blackmailer could be someone else."

Zakhar gave Aleksei a reprimanding look.

"I had to tell her." Aleksei raised his hand in defense. "This happened twice now. Yesterday as well."

"What happened yesterday?" Lev joined them down the stairs with Nikita following behind him.

Aleksei waited until they were all seated and then he told them what happened.

"I should have confronted you sooner about this." Nikita glanced at Lev. "I knew something was off when I talked to the student who apologized."

"We didn't want to say anything until we had a certain lead," Lev explained.

Zakhar leaned back into the chair and then with a decisive nod he glanced at Lev. "Pull up everything you can find on the school's security system."

Lev pulled up footage from the cameras in the area where they spotted the person. The cameras around the stables caught nothing, but for the study room there was a person caught in the hallway across you could tell they were taking pictures with a professional camera. You couldn't see the face, but the image was clear enough to tell what they were doing.

"Who is that?" Tai tried to get a better look. The person was wearing an oversized hoodie and a jacket with the hood up, but they were pretty slim.

"Is it a man?" Nikita squinted his eyes to see better.

"It looks like a girl to me." Zakhar leaned towards the screen.

Feeling overwhelmed by the lack of personal space, Lev brought his hand up, shooing them away to take a step back.

"Let me see the video again." Aleksei was the only one to lean forward now. "Can you zoom in on the camera they're holding?"

Lev zoomed in on the footage straight at the person holding the camera. The person had a heart ring with sparkling jewels on their finger.

"It's a girl," Lev said immediately.

"I know that sparkling ring." Aleksei snapped back and sighed. "I've seen it before. Nina wears one just like that."

"Nina?" They all asked in synchronicity.

"She's a girl from my class." Aleksei pushed his hair back. "I didn't think she was the type of person to stalk or blackmail."

"Let's not jump to conclusions just yet." Zakhar said. "Go and talk to her. See what you can find out about why she did it. In the meantime, everyone stays here." Zakhar looked at Tai.

"Why? Is he going to seduce the answers out of her?" Tai said unenthusiastically.

Zakhar and Lev both turned towards Aleksei.

"Hey it's my best tactic." He smiled.

Zakhar gave him another reprimanding look.

Aleksei felt a cold shiver down his back, but he put on his best smile and turned toward Tai.

"They don't want you to know because I use whatever means I need to get answers even if it means messing with someone's mind in the cruelest way." He laughed like a little kid trying to cover up how serious it sounded.

Tai was staring at him unsure what to say.

He smirked. "But I can seduce the answers out of her if that makes you feel better."

"I don't care what you use, just go and get answers, but don't use some miserable tactic you're not sure they will work." Lev said." Nikita's life is on the line here."

"He's right." Tai said. "Go and do it. In whatever way you want."

Aleksei looked at her confused. "I don't want to do it, if it means you lose trust in me."

Tai crossed her arms. "I'll be fine. I need you to help Nikita now."

Aleksei had a determent face on. "Alright then. I will come back with answers."

**

Aleksei called Nina out with the excuse he needed to copy something from her. Seeing how fast she came out of her villa, he knew she didn't suspect anything. She was smiling, happy to see him.

"Want to talk to me somewhere in private?" she suggested.

Sure." He gave her the smile that always worked on her

They walked behind the building and Aleksei stopped where there was a blindspot from the school cameras.

"That's a pretty ring." Aleksei glanced at her hand and she brought it up immediately staring at the ring.

"Thank you."

"A gift from someone?"

"No um.." She smiled. "I bought it for myself. It's custom made."

"One of a kind then." Aleksei walked a step closer, taking a better look at her ring. "Do you let others wear it?"

"It never leaves my hand." She smiled a bit more confidently.

Now that he had her identity confirmed, Aleksei took a few decisive steps, nudging her body to the wall. She took a nervous breath and stared into his eyes.

"Tell me more about you." Aleksei used a calm and serious tone. "What do you usually do in a day?"

"What's with the questions?"

"I want to know more about you." He kept looking at her. "Are you the type of girl who stays cooped up in her room?"

"No." She said. "I like going out."

"What did you do today?"

The wind blew and she brought her hand up brushing hair away from her face. "I uh.." She stuttered.

"Do you have any hobbies?" He asked gently. "Like photography?"

In a split second, the little atmosphere Nina had thought was a moment between them turned into her worst nightmare.

"Oh god." She whimpered and took a step back. When she realized her back was up against a wall and had nowhere to run, fear and panic washed all over her. "You know. You saw me, didn't you."

"Do you like taking pictures of other people?" Aleksei asked with a soft tone but he didn't move away to give her a chance to escape.

Her voice, however, was betraying her. "I didn't mean to. I'm not a stalker or anything I just.."

"Shh...I know, I know." Aleksei led with a sweet voice. "You were only curious about me, weren't you?"

She went quiet, brimming with embarrassment.

"I understand. I get like that too with the person I like." Aleksei smiled. "You can tell me. I understand."

No matter how sweet he sounded, Nina was feeling restless and uncomfortable. However, she had no other choice but to confess. "I heard you were hanging around some girl and I wanted to see if it was true. I only wanted to see her but then.."

"You got more and more curious about her?" Aleksei was using his most comforting tone. "You didn't mean any harm."

She shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. "Of course not. I was just going to see how she looks. What I lack. Ugh I really don't know why I did it. I'm sorry."

Aleksei nodded like he understood. "And what about at the stables? Why did you take pictures there?"

In a split second, Aleksei saw confusion in her eyes.

"What stables?" She asked.

"Yesterday. Did you take pictures as well? It's okay if you can tell me. I understand the curiosity."

"No, I haven't been to the stables yesterday. I wasn't even here after classes. My roommates and I went out." She explained.

"So you weren't at the stables?" Aleksei locked eyes with her. His tone was no longer gentle.

A chill rolled down her spine. "No. No!" She denied it firmly.

"I see." Aleksei took a step back and she could finally take a deeper breath.

"I'll delete the pictures. I'm sorry." She lowered her head.

"I would appreciate it if this didn't happen again in the future." Aleksei said firmly.

She faced him with an apologetic frown. "It won't."

"No more pictures then. She's really special to me and I don't want her to worry." Aleksei smiled and then placed his hands in his back pocket. "You'll do that for me and I'll forgive you."

She nodded her head vigorously.

He then turned around and headed back to the villa. Of course it's not the same person at the stables. Nina got caught instantly, while they couldn't find anything on the person who was at the stables. Whoever the blackmailer was, was extremely careful and detailed in hiding their tracks.

He walked inside the house facing the equally curious faces awaiting him.

"I have answers." He looked at Tai. "She didn't even touch me. I'm pure."

Tai chuckled amused. Seeing him back so soon was a huge relief.

"But we have a problem."Aleksei took off his jacket and joined everyone in the living room. He locked eyes with Tai who was sitting between Lev and Nikita.

"Nina did take pictures today, but she's not the blackmailer. And she's not the one who was at the stables."

"So we are back at square one." Nikita sighed.

"No, we are making progress." Zakhar crossed his legs and sank back into the armchair. "Now that I know the blackmailer is lurking around is going to be a lot easier to lure them out."

"You have a plan?" Tai asked.

"I do." Zakhar instructed Aleksei to sit down. "It includes both of you."

Aleksei and Tai gave each other a look.

"Let's sum up." Zakhar pointed at Nikita. "You got blackmailed and came to us for help. While we were still doing background checks, the blackmailer tried to motivate you to pay out so they notified your roommates. However, things changed because we got involved. The blackmailer must have noticed that if we were involved we would find them right away. So scared to be found out, instead of walking into the trap we laid out, he set up someone else."

"The student who apologized. He was probably blackmailed too." Nikita filled in.

"Exactly." Zakhar continued. "So while taking us off their tracks, the blackmailer started looking into everyone involved. Including Tai. She's been spending time around us and now even went out on a date with Aleksei. If the blackmailer hears something about her being close to us, they will want to confirm it. That's why the person stalked her in the stables."

"You think that's why I'm watched?" Tai said, the very thought making her skin crawl.

"The blackmailer will want to confirm you're dating Aleksei. They will use anything they can find on you to blackmail you too or us since we got in the way the first time." Zakhar explained.

Nikita glanced at Tai. "By the way, why was I out of the loop about the date?"

Tai smiled awkwardly. "I was gonna tell you about the date."

"When? At the wedding?" Nikita asked.

"It was only one date. Let's not be excessive."

"Just one date? It was still an important thing." Aleksei murmured. "Why didn't you tell him?"

Tai pointed towards Aleksei "Will the groom stay out of it. Thank you." She turned towards Nikita. "How did you find out?"

"Lev told me." Nikita answered.

She raised a brow suspiciously, and then turned towards Lev. "And how do you know?"

"We were together." Lev answered.

"Oh?" Tai turned towards Nikita. You got caught too, you little liar.

Lev interrupted the silence. " He gave me his reservations and told me you're on a study date." Lev explained, pointing at Aleksei.

Tai smiled at Aleksei. "Wow you tell them everything, and I didn't even hear about the blackmailer until now."

Aleksei cleared his throat. "These are my friends, I can tell them what I want."

She pointed at Nikita. "Nikita is my friend."

"He lives here. He's my friend now." Aleksei crossed his arms.

"I knew I was popular but wow." Nikita sunk into the couch, crossing his legs. "It's okay. I'm used to this situation."

Tai and Aleksei continued talking over each other.

Lev extended his arm behind Tai brushing Nikita's hair to get his attention, "Maybe I was wrong. You seem to fit in just about fine here."

Nikita awkwardly moved his head, trying not to break into a smile.

Suddenly there was a loud bang over the coffee table and Zakhar was contemplating if another hit was needed to keep them quiet. Luckily they went silent.

"Back to the main conversation. " Zakhar said. "The plan."

"Right the plan." Tai turned her attention toward him. "What's the plan?"

He glanced at Aleksei. "You two stop dating for now."

"What?" They both exclaimed in shock.

"What's with the shock, you were arguing until now." Zakhar glanced at them.

"That's flirting." Aleksei jumped right away.

Tai nodded. "I'm just flustered everyone knows I went on a date with him."

"You're joking with us? Right, Zakhar?" Aleksei stared at Zakhar.

"The blackmailer needs confirmation," Zakhar explained. "Whoever they are, they will keep watching whether or not you two are dating. I'm sure at this point, they are collecting data to use against us. That's why we need to use this against the blackmailer."

Zakhar knew they weren't going to like this, but continued. "There's nothing I want more than to see you guys happy together, but this is the only thing I can come up with in a short time. Don't see each other alone or text or call until we have set a specific date as bait. The blackmailer will surely show up to confirm this information."

Zakhar glanced at Aleksei. "It's the closest shot we got."